i love the new record. just pre-ordered it, actually, after hearing the leak. it is steadier paced and a bit less angry and depressing, so if that's not what you want then you might prefer her last one. but both are great imo.

the variety and slightly lighter overall tone on this new one makes it slightly disappointing for me - but i still think its a decent, listenable album i will continue to spend time with it even if it doesnt have the dark power of burn your fire

right - i see - yep i got the record in the mail a couple of days ago so its early days but i def think it has a different tone from previous - i guess she is exploring different emotions this time around

Just tried this out. Couldn't make it past track 2. Just too much singing and the music isn't my cup of tea. I guess I was expecting something like Julia Holter or Laura Groves, both musicians I really enjoy. Maybe when I just want a generic rock record with female vocals i'll try it again.

strangely (or not?) this change isnt reflected at all by the singles, so it really jumped out at me on first listen.... *fingers crossed* that this is just a weird creative decision, and not something she resorted to because of vocal strain or w/e

I checked this out because 'Sister' was pretty epic. The rest of the album is pretty standard pop/rock. Her voice will take some getting used to — it seems a little too loud in the mix and she does that vibrato-y trembling thing a little too often. But, wow, those two longer tracks on the second half are really fantastic.

The critical reception of this confuses me: To my ears what we have here is something bland and seriously uninteresting. Musically an unremarkable re-hash of synth-pop ideas (Human League et al.) with the odd dash of an anodyne version of Siouxsie (think cavernous production, think big, think EMA), until the ballads set in. It is all held together by a voice that makes me cringe: Once you have encountered Angel Olsen’s dreadful melisma „Ti-Hi-Hime“ bang at the beginning of „Shut Up Kiss Me“ you discover genuine sophistication in "I wanna hold you ha-ha-ha-ha-hand“. Or am I missing the point which is: „Kiss me, unless you want me to carry on with this.“? A forgettable album, one of those myriads that do not require my attention. One could leave it that, but metacritic assembles evidence that critics find something in this that completely eludes me: A current score of 89 for this (including Pitchfork, but you know, their judgment is shakey from time to time; allmusic; The Guardian; The New York Times; Chicago Herald – blimey!) certainly is something to write home about, but according to metacritic people at home will know anyway. Music for men who cannot get enough of the cocaine sheen in the yearning of Stevie Nicks!There is a passage brimming with humour in „Sister“, when she sings: „And all this blessing was a curse / before I opened up my ...“ and who would not expect „purse“? However, it turns out, it was her „heart“ that the singer opened at that point – a case of thoroughly defying expectations.Laura Marling, Julia Holter, Courtney Barnett, Elza Soares, Serafina Steer, Cat Power, Eileen Jewell – they all go to show that the world is not deplete of interesting young and moving female voices producing exciting music.

Laura Marling, Julia Holter, Courtney Barnett, Elza Soares, Serafina Steer, Cat Power, Eileen Jewell – they all go to show that the world is not deplete of interesting young and moving female voices producing exciting music.

IanJWaltersSep 2, 201610Confidently confused, unabashedly devoted to her feelings, she esteems intuition as a goddess worth building an altar for, it seems, instead of just burning a fire. These songs rock and roll. "I dare you to understand what makes me a woman," she croons, at first, then belts the last syllable, stretching it all the way around the earth. Challenge accepted.